Upon His Return
by Donna Lynn
Summary: It's been six years since Alec left Seattle...and now he returns.
1. Chapter 1

Upon His Return

Author: Donna Lynn

E-mail: dpierce99@hotmail.com

Status: Complete

Category: Drama/Angst/Romance

Spoilers/Rumors: Anything so far for season 2 | Alternate Universe 

Season: 2

Rating: PG

Content Warning: Overall this story contains language, violence and sexual situations, but not for this chapter. 

Summary: Spoilers for a future episode "Borrowed Time" it hasn't aired yet so if you don't want to be spoiled then don't read this. It's been six years since Alec left Seattle, and no one here's from him again until he shows up in Seattle to see Max. 

Author's Note: In this story Alec left after "Borrowed Time" and never came back until six years later after everything in Max's life has changed. I don't know how this came to mind it just did. I hope everyone likes it so please read and review. 

Pairing: Max/Alec

Disclaimer: The characters of "Dark Angel" do not belong to me. So DO NOT sue me!

Chapter I

Part I

It was another rainy gloomy day in Seattle. Max sat in the window seal of her apartment and watched the rain fall down the side of the window in steady streams. She reached up and traced the patterns it made and lost herself in her own thoughts. 

Today was the sixth anniversary of Manticore being destroyed. It was stuck in her head like it happened yesterday. She leaned her head against the window and wrapped her arms around herself. A lot had changed in the past six years. Nothing was like it used to be back in the days. Today was a day she wanted to celebrate with Logan, Zack...Alec. Her eyes filled with tears at the thought of all three of them. Logan had died in a car accident four years ago. Zack had never retrieved his memory and got married to a normal small town gal. Alec...Alec had left a few months after Manticore was gone. 

Just when she started to get used to him he took off without a word. She should have known though. They both were given a chance to earn thirty thousand dollars and they took it. He asked her if she wanted to know what he was going to do with his money. Of course she said no and that was a big mistake. Obviously, he intended to leave Seattle for good. After they received their money he was gone...just gone. At first she thought he got greedy and took off to by some hookers. Six months went by and she wondered if he would ever come back. Original Cindy kept saying, "Don't worry boo...it's better late than never."

A whole year went by and no Alec. She gave up all hope of his return. She never let anyone know how much she missed him. All his obnoxious...annoying comments he spit out so gracefully she missed. 

"I miss him, " she whispered to her empty apartment. She unfolded her arms from around herself and stood from the window seal. She walked to her couch and laid down. She wrapped herself in a fuzzy blanket and got comfortable and closed her eyes. She let herself fall into a deep sleep as she listened to the rainfall on the metal surface outside her window. 

Alec fiddled with the radio station in his car as he drove down the wet highway. Not able to find anything he switched the radio off and settled back into his seat. He was on his way back to Seattle after six years away. Today was a day he could never forget. Today was the day six years ago his life changed forever. 

His thoughts drifted to Max as he drove. He knew she was still in Seattle. She was really the only reason he wanted to come back. Six years was a long time to think things over. He thought back on the reason he left in the first place. He was tired of all the judgement from everyone, even Max. No matter what he did he was a screw up. At first the comments didn't bother him. Then there meaning behind them sunk in and he became bothered. He figured the best thing to do was to just pack up and leave for good. For the past six years he had been getting his life together. Now he needed to apologize for his wrongs no matter if there taken or not. He needed to say them face to face. 

He noticed a sign ahead that read "Seattle five miles"

He sighed and gripped the steering wheel tighter. "You can do this Alec, " he said. 

Max stirred from her sleep as a clap of thunder woke her. She sat up and noticed it was still raining heavily. She folded the blanket up and placed it on the back of the couch and stood to walk to the fridge. The apartment lit up from a flash of lighting then went dark. 

"Oh man come on, " she said quietly. She opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water and closed the fridge back. You would figure after years of power outages they would fix the problem. She walk to her cabinet and took some candles out to light the apartment. It was still daylight hours and even though it was cloudy outside she decided to hold off on the candles. The rain outside fell in sheets now as the storm got worse. That seemed to be the theme of things as of late. She only hoped things would improve. She wished one good thing would happen and soon. 

If she only knew what was headed her way. 


	2. Chapter 2

Alec pulled up outside Max's apartment and shut off the car. He gripped the wheel of the car and took a deep breath. This was the moment he had been planning for months. To come back and see her. "It's now or never buddy…lets do this, " he swallowed the lump in his throat opened his car door and stepped out into the rain. 

He shut his car door and walked to the entrance of her building. As he walked into the building he noticed the power was out so the elevators wouldn't be working. "That's ok…I could use the walk, " he said quietly. He was really nervous about seeing her after so many years. Would she want to see him or not? His palms got sweaty and his heartbeat accelerated. As he climbed the stairs he thought about what he was going to say to her. What should he say to her…that he was sorry for leaving without saying goodbye? The notion occurred to him that she would kick his ass then maybe ask questions later. That would be his old Max. His…where did that come from?

He reached her floor and stopped at the top of the stairs. His feet wouldn't let him move as he stared to the end of the hall where her apartment was. Everything seemed to slow down at that moment. Slowly, he began to walk towards her door……

"I wish it would stop raining, " Max whispered. She was brought out of her haze when there was a knock on the front door. For a moment she didn't move trying to figure out who it was. She stood from the couch and made her way to the door. Without looking through the peephole she unlocked the door and opened it to reveal Alec. Time stopped as they stared at each other. 

"Alec, " she asked in a small voice. The look on her face almost made him cry. She looked so relieved at that moment. 

"Hey Max, " he said equally small. He stared at her with such sincerity she almost fainted. 

Before he knew what happened she through herself into his arms and hugged him tightly. He closed his eyes and pulled her against him tighter. 

"Oh my God Alec, " she felt tears run down her face as she buried her face into his neck. 

"I'm back Max…I'm back, " he whispered into her ear. He stroked her hair as comforted her closely. Tears stung his own eyes and he let them fall. Not worrying about what she would say. He just wanted to hold her for now. She was all that mattered to him anymore. 

"Why did you go?" she asked quietly. She sat next to him on the couch letting it all sink in. He was back and that all that matter, but she wanted to know why he left in the first place. Was it because of her or something else?

He turned to look at her and smiled. She was still beautiful as ever. He missed her face…her smile…her laugh when she did laugh. 

"What?" she asked. "Do I have something on my face, " she asked concerned. 

He laughed and took her hands into his. "No, your face is fine. You look just like the last time I saw you…beautiful." He stroked the side of her face and grew serious. "I'm so sorry Max. I didn't think you would care if I left. I didn't think anyone would care. I left because I was always screwing things up. I needed to get my head on strait and I couldn't do that here."

"I didn't know you felt that way, " she said softly. "If you felt that way you could've said something you know."

"That's the thing Max I was feeling things that I had felt only one time in my life, and if you recall I got punished for it, " he said looking her in the eye. 

"I remember, " she said quietly. "So you did what all of us do even me…you panicked. That was a normal thing to do." 

He chuckled, "This may come as a surprise, but…the reason I didn't say anything was because I thought you would try to talk me out of it. I should have known better you hated me."

"I never hated you Alec, " she said. "Granted I did find you annoying ninety percent of the time, but I didn't hate you. I still don't."

He nodded his head and looked away. She looked away too she was starting to get lost in his blue eyes. "So uh, do have a place to stay. Cindy doesn't live here anymore so I don't get much company, " she said playing with her hands. 

He thought about it, "Uh, sure if it's not any trouble."

"It's not a problem. You can have Cindy's old room, " she stood from the couch and walked into to hers to get some bed attire. 

He watched her walk away and let out the breath he was holding. It had gone better than he expected. He expected her to bitch at him then say, 'nice to have you back now get out of my apartment' and walk away. He rubbed his hands together and let the situation sink in. 

"She missed me…she really missed me, " he whispered to himself. 

Tell me what you think…..


	3. Chapter 3

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I can't believe he's back. After all these years he shows up on my doorstep like a dream come true. Maybe miracles really do happen. I can tell he's changed over the past six years. Living out in the real world will do that to you. From the looks of it he's been living on his own not getting attached to anyone like he did here. 

For the first time in a long time I feel happy. I'm really happy he's back. I just hope he doesn't take off again or if he does I hope he keeps in contact like Zack used too. 

"You wanna run that by me again, " Original Cindy said pacing in her living room on the phone with Max.

"He's back, " Max said quietly. 

Original Cindy shook her head, "I can't believe it. Your boy is back see I told you he'd be back I just didn't say when."

"I was so surprised to see him I just through my arms around him afraid he would disappear, " Max said as she watched him sleep. 

"You okay?" she asked concerned.

Max smiled sweetly, "Yea I'm just being quiet so I don't wake him. He's sleeping…he drove all day and night to get here." He looked so peaceful sleeping. He stirred a little and she exited the room quickly but quietly so she wouldn't wake him. "I don't want to wake him he was really beat."

"Where's he been the past six years Max?" Original Cindy asked in awe

Max shrugged, "I don't know. We didn't go into details about either of us."

"He doesn't know about Logan?" Original Cindy asked carefully. 

"No, but he knows you've got your own place with your girl, " Max said. 

"What'd he have to say about that?" 

"His usual line, 'what a shame'."

They both laughed and Original Cindy spoke, "Well girl I'm gonna let you go. I'm really glad he's back. I know it's something you wanted for a long time."

"Thanks I'll see ok." They hang up and Max put the phone back on the receiver. She turned back to Alec's room and walked to the door. She opened it carefully to look in on him. He moved to his right side facing the door still sleeping. A small smile crossed her face as she watched him. She could've sat there all-day and watched him. She missed his face how it would light up when he smiled or laughed. She missed his quirky comments he loved to make.

"Why don't you lay down with me?" he said sleepily. 

She frowned at being caught. He opened his eyes and looked up to her and smiled. "You look tired yourself come on…" he moved over so she could fit and patted the bed with his hand. "Come on I won't bite…much, " he grinned. 

She glared at him and made her way to the bed. "You promise you won't bite?" she asked standing over him. 

"I promise, " he said extending his hand out to her. 

She took it and laid down beside him. He scooted closer spooning there bodies. He wrapped an arm around her and asked, "This ok?"

"Yea, it's fine, " she said already sleepy. 

"Sweet dreams Max, " he whispered into her hair. 

She murmured something unintelligible and put her hand over his on her abdomen. Both comfortable they fell into a peaceful slumber.

Sorry it's so short but I didn't want to include it with chapter 2 so lay it on me!!! What do you think so far???? 


	4. Chapter 4

Alec laid on his side propped up on his elbow looking down at Max as she slept. With his left hand he stroked her hair gently so he wouldn't wake her. She looked so much better while she slept. The stress of her life and worry's weren't on her face. She was relaxed and where she wanted to be. 

Then it occurred to him today was the six-year anniversary of the destruction of Manticore. Today was the day he got his freedom and all because of the woman lying next to him. He had so much to pay for. She once told him the only thing that helps is time. He's had six-years to heal but the wounds are still there. 

Her apartment phone rang bringing him out of his thoughts. He tried to get up and answer it but a hand on his wrist stopped him. "Don't…let the machine get it, " she whispered. 

"It could be important…it might be Logan, " he said. 

She opened her eyes and looked up at him as the answering machine picked up. Whoever it was didn't leave a message. Her eyes welled up with tears, "Logan died four years ago in a car accident."

His eyes widened with shock. He didn't know what to say he knew how much Logan meant to her, and he wasn't there for her. "I'm sorry, " he said softly. 

"It's ok…I've had fours years, " she said playing with the pillowcase. She sat up and stood from the bed then turned to face him now sitting up. 

"What about everyone else?" he asked. 

"I still work at Jam Pony with Normal still tromping around as the boss. Original Cindy and Sketchy still work there too. Joshua's still around he gets out on occasion now. That's after I taught him how to get around like a normal person, " she explained with a smile. 

"Had any problems with White?" he asked reluctantly.

She frowned, "Yea…I've had some problems with White. He rears his ugly head once in awhile, but not much anymore."

He sensed something in her words. There was more than what she was telling him. Hopefully in time she would tell him what happened. 

"You hungry?" she asked quickly. 

"Yea actually I'm famished, " he said putting a hand to his stomach. 

"Wanna go to Crash and get something to eat?" she asked shrugging her shoulders putting her hands in her pockets. 

He stood from the bed and straitened his clothes out, "I'm ready when you are."

"Good, just let me get ready, " she said turning to leave the room. 


	5. Chapter 5

Alec was nervous as hell. He didn't know if Original Cindy and Sketchy would welcome him with open arms like Max did. He noticed Max looking at him from the corner of her eye. 

"You look nervous, " she said carefully. 

He chuckled, "Yea you could say that."

"You think there going to be upset, " she said. 

"It crossed my mind, " he joked. 

She touched his shoulder, "We'll just see how it goes ok."

They made there way to the back and saw Original Cindy and Sketchy. Original Cindy looked up and saw them headed toward them. She stood and made her way over to them. "Hey boo, " Original Cindy said hugging Max as Alec stood behind her uncomfortable. Original Cindy pulled back from Max and looked at Alec. "How you doin Alec?" she asked caringly. 

"I'm going ok now, " he shrugged. 

Original Cindy walked to him and hugged him. The action surprised Alec, but he reacted and hugged her back. Max smiled winked at him. He smiled back and she pulled back and said, "It's good to see you."

"Hey Alec, " Sketchy said getting everyone's attention. 

"Hey Sketchy how have you been?" Alec asked walking toward him. 

"I've been good man how about yourself. Thanks for saying goodbye, " Sketchy said with a smart-aleck tone. 

Alec knew he would get this from Sketchy. He was really Sketchy's only friend. Besides Max he probably hurt him the most. "I'm sorry Sketchy I didn't mean to leave without saying goodbye I just had a lot of stuff to work out you know…I'm sorry, " he extended his hand. 

Sketchy looked at his hand then up to his face. He reached out and took his hand, "It's all good man."

Max and Original Cindy smiled at each other and bumped hands. "It's all good boo, " Original Cindy said. 

"So where'd you go man?" Sketchy asked. 

"Around, I didn't stay in one place to long. I moved around a lot, " Alec said taking a bite of his sandwich. 

Original Cindy cleared her throat and stood from her chair, "Original Cindy is gonna make a toast." She picked up her beer mug and held it up, "Here's too Alec and his return Seattle and us."

"Here here, " Max said as they all tapped their glasses together. 

"Anyone up for a game of pool?" Alec asked with a mischievous grin.

Sketchy looked at him, "I've had six years to perfect my technique lets do buddy."

Max and Original Cindy watched as they made their way to a pool table. Original Cindy looked to Max and saw her staring at Alec. She knew she was happy for the first time since Logan died. "So where's he stayin?"

"He took your old room, " Max grinned. 

Original Cindy raised her eyebrow, "Really."

"What?" Max asked. 

"I'm surprised he ain't in your room."

"It's not like that" Max said innocently. 

"You just take things slow boo. Neither one of you need to rush right now, " Original Cindy said carefully. 

"I know…I don't want to do anything to make him go away, " Max said solemnly.

She looked back to Alec and Sketchy and watched


	6. Chapter 6

"That turned out better than expected, " Alec said as he and Max entered the apartment. 

Max shook her jacket off and turned to face him. "It could've been worse, " she shrugged smiling. 

"That's true, " he said shrugging his jacket off onto the couch. He sat down and made himself comfortable. 

"You look exhausted, " she asked softly. 

"I guess it's all the tension from the day, " he said pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes. "I'm actually kind of tired. How I don't know we pretty much slept all day."

She smiled and made her way over to him on the couch. She took off her shoes and sat down next to him. "So, where all did you go?" she asked trying to strike up a conversation. 

"Ah, you know here…there…everywhere. Like I said I didn't stay in one place too long, just in case, " he said glancing at her towards the end. 

She knew what he meant. He was moving around a lot so White couldn't find him. White had it out for her and Alec. 

"So you never ran into White or anyone from Manticore?" she asked with hesitation. He looked at her as she said it and noticed her hesitation. 

"No, I never did run into trouble can you believe it. What about you?" he asked looking at her closely. 

She shrugged, "Same old same old…White showed up once in a while to let me know he hadn't forgot about me."

"How did those encounters go?" he asked. 

"Bad, " she whispered. 

He could tell White was not a subject she didn't want to talk about. This was not like the Max he knew when it came to White. Usually, if you mentioned the name she became infuriated. Now, she became closed off like something of a bad dream. 

"You know you can talk to me right, " he said softly. 

She looked at him affectionately, "I know, but…it's not something I'm ready to talk about." 

He nodded. In her own time she would tell him what the encounters with White had done to her. He only hoped they weren't too bad. 

"I'm gonna take a bath ok, " she said patting him on the knee and standing from the couch. 

He watched her go into the kitchen and bring out all the pots to fill with water to heat. 

__

'What did he do to you Max?' he thought to himself as he made himself comfortable on the couch. 


	7. Chapter 7

Max came out of the bathroom after her bath and saw Alec asleep on the couch. She covered her mouth so she wouldn't laugh out loud, but that didn't stop her from smiling at how peaceful he looked. He must've come a long way to be sleeping so much. Quietly, she went into her bedroom and changed into her nightclothes, which was a tank top and shorts. 

She walked back into the living room and sat down in her recliner and picked up a book she'd been reading. Not wanting to sleep or wake Alec up for a conversation she decided to read instead. She reclined back and made herself comfortable. With a glance toward Alec who was softly snoring she opened her book to where she stopped reading last. 

The hours went by as she read. It had started to rain again and she put her book down and wiped her eyes. She looked out the window and laid her head back on the recliner and closed her eyes letting sleep succumb her. 

A few hours went by when she began to stir in her sleep…a nightmare. 

__

"You are worthless 452…"

"You are nothing…"

"You are not superior to us…"

White words rang in her head over and over again. She remembered how he tortured her for the location of other transgenics. For days she took the torture and didn't udder a single word. During those few days she thought she would loose her sanity. 

"Come on 452…I can stop all this suffering if you just give me the locations of other transgenics, " White said running a scalpel up and down her exposed abdomen. 

Max was tied down to a lab table completely naked. White had been interrogating her for six strait days. Six days of beating. 

White stood and leaned over Max, "I'm actually impressed you've lasted this long 452. But I can promise you won't be able to take much more. Now tell me what I want to know." He took the scalpel and began to cut into her stomach. Max's face retorted with pain but no sounds came out as tears fell down her face. 

__

No! I will not…I will not…no, no…NO!

Alec woke to hear Max's frightened screams. Startled he stood from the couch and made his way over to her in a fit of screams. "No, no!" she screamed fighting in her chair against an unseeable force. 

"Max! Shh, Max you're ok, " Alec grabbed her arms to keep her from hurting him or herself. "Max…wake up, " he insisted. She woke with a gasp to find Alec holding her down. 

Alec let go of her arms and pushed her hair out from her face, "You alright?"

It took Max a minute to get her senses back, "Yea…it was just a nightmare. I'm ok."

Alec stood and walked to the kitchen getting a glass and filling it up with water. He walked back to her and handed her the glass, "Here."

"Thanks, " she said as she took the glass and drank the water. 

Alec kneeled beside her in the chair and looked at her concerned. "What were you dreaming about?"

Max finished her water and put the glass down. "Uh, just your usual nightmare you know." She flashed back to the torture White was giving her. She closed her eyes to shut the memory out. 

Alec took her hand in his, "Max, talk to me."

She looked up into his eyes and the tears flowed freely. "Oh, Max, " Alec said as she fell into his arms. He held her close and stroked her hair as she cried into his chest. It must have been a dream about White. What the hell did he do to her? He didn't want to push her so he just consoled her the best he could till she felt like talking. A few minutes later she pulled back from their embrace and wiped the corners of her eyes. There was complete silence in the room. All that could be heard was the rain falling outside. 

"I never thought anyone could be worse than Lydecker, " Max spoke softly breaking the silence. 

Alec just listened. 

"My last encounter with White was a year ago. He'd captured a group of transgenics and was going to move them out of Seattle for testing. I went to try and get them out by myself. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I got the group out but ended up being captured in the process, " she explained. 

"What happened?" Alec asked lowly. 

Max looked down at there entwined hands, "The first day was a piece of cake. He just asked me questions. I guess he didn't want to damage the goods. About the second or third day was when he started to use…other methods to try and get me to talk." She looked up and noticed his expression. She'd never seen that expression on anyone but Zack and it both scared and delighted her. 

"When Logan died I didn't have any other connections. So, over the past four years Joshua and me have been finding other transgenics. Getting a contract kind of thing going to know where they all are just in case something goes down they can be warned, " she explained. 

"That's what White wanted, " Alec realized. 

She nodded, "For six full days he tortured me for there locations. I just tried my best to zone out so I wouldn't feel the pain."

"How did you escape?" he asked. 

Max flashed back to that day…

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(Flashback)

Max was strapped down on a table staring blankly at the ceiling above her. She was almost to the point of no return. White's torture was almost too much for her. Anymore and she would disappear into the abyss forever. She heard the door to the room open but couldn't look up because even her head was strapped down. She heard the door close and lock then heard footsteps come over to her on the table. 

A man leaned over and looked at her. A syringe came into view and she struggled against the straps. 

"It's no use 452. As soon as I give you this you'll be able to watch a baby fall under a train and smile about it, " the man said. He looked down at her arm and stuck her with the needle. After the past few days she didn't even feel the needle go in. 

Once he was done he threw the needle away and began to undo her straps. 

Max saw this as her opportunity. If she could get past him before whatever he gave her kicked in she might be able to escape. _Wait till he gets them off._

The man finished undoing her straps and got on the table with her. "Now, me and you are going to have some fun, " he said going for the fly of his pants. 

__

NOW!

Quick as lightening Max reached up and grabbed him by the throat. "Big mistake pal, " she hissed as she choked the life out of him. She pushed him off the table and got off the table. She grabbed some clothes off the wall and put them on quickly and went to the door. She tried to unlock it but didn't have the strength too. The drug would start to take effect since she got her adrenaline pumping. She looked around the room for something to wedge in between the door. A bar sat up on the wall and she took it and wedged it between the door and the frame. With all her might she pushed and broke the lock. She opened the door and looked up and down the hall to see if anyone was patrolling. No one in sight she made her way into the hall. 

Quietly, she walked down the hall. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed a drainage pipe. She walked over to it and opened the grate on it and slipped inside. As she made her way through the pipe she felt the drug start to take effect. _Come on Max you're almost out._ Relief came over her face as she saw a light at the end of the tunnel. She reached the end and pushed on the grate. It wouldn't budge. She put her feet against it and began to kick at it. 

Sirens went off and she started to kick harder. The grate bent and she kicked it one final time making it fall off. She slipped out just in time to hear gunfire. She turned in time to see group of White's militants. She turned and made a run for the fence. Just as she made it to the fence she heard White yell, "I want her alive!"

"Sayonara White!" she yelled as she jumped the fence and landed into a full out run. 

"Dammit!" White yelled as she disappeared. 

__

(Present)

"I ran until I couldn't run anymore, " she said staring off into space. "I somehow managed to make it to Joshua's. He got a hold of Cindy and she got Logan's old doctor to come out and take care of me."

"I'm sorry I wasn't here for you Max, " he said squeezing her hand. 

She looked at him and shook her head, "Don't blame yourself Alec there's no way you could've known."

"If I'd stayed here you would have never been taken, " he said with conviction. 

"Yeah, and it was stupid of me to go in alone too. I could've called on help, but me being me thought I could handle it, " she said browbeating herself. 

Alec let go of her and walked to the other side of the room with his back to her. He felt so guilty right then. He felt like he failed her…again. So many times he let her down. That's why he left Seattle was to protect her. But, it didn't work out that way. He left and things went down hill. Logan died then White captured her. He could've kept in contact with her. Let her know where he was in case she needed him. He never made the call because he was afraid she would hang up on him. He wasn't sure he could take that. At least not after he settle his feelings for her. 

"Alec, " she spoke softly. 

He turned toward her, "Max I am so sorry." He was about to break down in tears. Max stood from the chair and walked to stand in front of him. She touched the side of his face, "You listen to me. The past is the past. From this point on we both are on a clean slate. We've both made mistakes Alec, but I don't care anymore I just care that you're back with me, " she said staring him in the eyes. 

Alec closed his eyes letting a tear fall down his face. He leaned into her hand then pulled her into a hug. "I love you Max, " he confessed. 

"I love you too Alec, " she pulled him tighter against her. 

Things were going to be alright from there on out. 

THE END

It may not have been the ending everyone was looking for, but I could always right more if you want. 


End file.
